Main urban areas cover 5,078 square kilometres, 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s land area. Almost 80 percent (3,945 square kilometres) is in the North Island. Between 1971 and 2000, the mean temperature for main urban areas varied between 12 and 16oC in the North Island, and 9 and 13oC in the South Island. Christchurch urban area recorded the highest temperature for an urban area, 41.6oC. Hamilton urban area, in the North Island, recorded the lowest temperature in this period, -9.9oC. Nelson recorded the highest sunshine hours, with an annual mean of 2,405 hours between 1971 and 2000; Dunedin recorded the lowest, averaging 1,585 sunshine hours. Christchurch consistently had the lowest mean rainfall, an average of 648mm per year, while Whangarei averaged the highest, at 1,490mm per year.
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